By: Jared Barton

North Allegheny football alum Robert Kugler has landed a job back in Pittsburgh as a member of the Steelers.

The team officially announced Kugler as the next Tight Ends Coach on Thursday. He was previously the assistant offensive line coach with the New England Patriots, who are coming off a Super Bowl appearance last week.

Kulger’s father, Sean, was a former Steelers undrafted free agent in 1989 and later the team’s offensive line coach from 2010 to 2012. The 2010 season was Robert’s senior year of high school and lone season at North Allegheny. The Tigers embarked on a 15-1 campaign, beating Woodland Hills for the WPIAL Championship, 21-14, and La Salle College High School for the PIAA Title, 21-0.

Kugler was a two-way player for the Tigers at tight end and defensive end. He caught two passes for 15 yards offensively but put up major numbers defensively with 67 tackles, including 37 solo stops and 7.0 sacks. He also had an interception, three passes defended and recovered a fumble. By season’s end, Kugler was named to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Fabulous 22 team,  was a first-team PIAA Class AAAA All-State selection, 2010 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Terrific 25, 2010 Pennsylvania Football News AAAA All-State at tight end, Pennsylvania Sports Writers first team All-State selection and was the 2010 PIAA Class AAAA Pennsylvania Player of the Year by the Associated Press.

College football players preparing for a snap during a game, wearing white and red uniforms on a sunny field.

Kugler played college football at Purdue from 2012 to 2015, where he was a two-time team captain and started 43 consecutive games at center. He went to training camp in 2016 with the Buffalo Bills after being signed as a rookie free agent.

The NA grad got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant and tight ends coach in 2017 at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). He spent the 2018-19 seasons as a graduate assistant at the University of Washington before becoming the offensive quality control coach at Appalachian State in 2020.

Coaches strategize on the sideline during a football game, wearing team gear and headsets.

He jumped to the NFL ranks in 2021 when he was hired as an assistant offensive line coach for the Houston Texans. He then spent two seasons (2022-23) with the Carolina Panthers as assistant offensive line coach before assuming the same role with the Patriots over the last two seasons.